We set off to Vietnam aware of but confortable with the risk of Coronavirus. Despite media (and particularly Social Media) coverage, it seemed to me to be a relatively mild flu-like virus. A few people raised eyebrows when we told them we were still going but most were OK with it. Yes it was new and yes it spread quite easily but when we left France there were basically the same number of cases in France as Vietnam. And in fact in Vietnam, 10 of the 16 cases were in one village in the North near China which the government has quarantined. On top of that they had swiftly closed the border with China - it really felt like they were doing everything necessary to control it. All "tourist facing" staff in airport, buses etc were ordered to wear masks and there were hand sanitation stations in most airports, malls, hotels etc. Helen insisted we travelled with masks in our bags but to date we haven't felt the need to wear them.

However on the 4th morning of our holiday, Charlie woke with a temperature. Helen started mildly panicking, immediately assuming the worst. I was comfortable enough - the tiny chances of Charlie having been exposed to the virus on the first day of his holiday combined with the gestation period being generally longer meant it was far more likely this is something he came away with rather than caught in Vietnam. However when we put him to bed the first night and Helen found him an hour later dripping with sweat and talking incoherently in his sleep, it's fair to say she freaked out completely. Long story short, after a couple of days of paracetamol the virus turned into nothing more than a head-cold and to date none of the rest of the family caught it. Ordinarily you wouldn't even mention it - people, particularly kids, catch things abroad - it happens, a lot. But the intense media coverage, near-hysteria, about the Coronavirus means that everyone is now on edge. The edginess ranges from "We're all going to die!!!" hysteria to "What happens if someone says - that boy's got a temperature". So we prepared for our flight from Dalat with a touch of trepidation - Charlie took his last paracetamol (just in case his temperature returned) and was under strict instruction not to cough too much in the airport. But there were no checks whatsoever and half the flight was coughing and spluttering a lot more than he did in the end. Then to our surprise, the next day on Cat Ba, just before boarding the boat for a short cruise, we were all subjected to a temperature check. Helen immediately started to panic again in case Charlie was dragged off to quarantine but happily we all passed fine. I asked our guide what would happen if someone showed a higher temperature - he smiled a little nervously and said "You'd be taken to hospital for further checks" and quickly ran off before I could ask any further questions about it.

Before we left, I predicted there'd be more cases in the UK and France than there would be in Vietnam by the time we got home. I haven't been tracking this, but having seen how Vietnam has reacted I believe that more so than ever. A country like Vietnam will make decisions that a European country will not or could not make. The village with 10,000 people in it that had the 10 cases has basically been locked down (and that's nothing compared to the numbers of people involved in the Chinese response!). Vietnam shut the border completely with China - its biggest trading partner and source of tourism. It provides free masks to basically anyone who wants them. It shut down some of the biggest tourist areas in the country (notably the ones popular with Chinese visitors). All this to stop dead the spread. Can you imagine the outcry if the UK were to do similar things to its citizens?

And all this has taken a heavy toll on the burgeoning tourist industry in Vietnam. From a selfish point of view it's been incredible visiting tourists sites that are completely deserted, bays with no ships around, restaurants that are half empty. But you cannot but feel for the hotel and restaurant owners that are struggling to make ends meet and have no idea how long it will last for. At present the crisis will cost Vietnam 1% of its GDP growth for 2020. And that's on the assumption it lasts no longer than 3 months. China has retaliated to Vietnam closing its border to its citizens by refusing all imports from Vietnam. Again, a big blow to the economy. But Vietnam knows that due to the proximity to China and the numbers of tourists from there that the virus would undoubtedly spread if it didn't take such drastic steps. And the virus spreading would inevitably crush tourism from the West, cause domestic unrest and international alienation.

Ironically Coronavirus seems to be a virus that represents relatively low risk to human health (certainly none more than the seasonal flu) but a far far greater threat to economic development in SE Asia and beyond.